Katie Choong and Eline Le Menstrel climb “Carnet d’Adresse”

This summer, I had the opportunity to follow Éline Le Menestrel and Katie Choong, two talented young French and Swiss climbers, who came to my neck of the woods to attempt “Carnet d’Adresse” on Rocher du Midi (Chartreuse, France). This hard (and burly) multi-pitch route was established by Philippe Mussato, and my two friends tackled it in “Eco-Point” style. More details to follow.

Éline Le Ménestrel is not just Marc’s daughter or Antoine’s niece. She is first and foremost a talented climber, activist, speaker, and will be featured in the Future of Climbing, the upcoming documentary that I am co-producing with Cédric Lachat. Éline is committed to climbing hard and in “Eco Point” style, meaning she minimizes her CO2 emissions when traveling to wherever she climbs — by biking, carpooling, taking the train, bus, etc.

Eco-Point comes from the term redpoint, which means climbing all of the moves on the route in a single push without falling (and after having initially worked the route in stages at least once before). In addition to the climbing style, the term adds an eco-friendly component  to the attempt, usually the means of transportation used to get to the base of the climb.

And that’s exactly what she did with Katie Choong, who traveled from Switzerland, to attempt the route “Carnet d’Adresse” (250m – 8b+/5.14a). Needless to say, when you start riding your bike up the steep road to Plateau des Petites Roches carrying your ropes, climbing gear, camping gear, and a bunch of quickdraws to work the route, you have to be truly motivated!

A Day of Filming on the Wall

As for me, I was mainly there to give them a hand, and took the opportunity to shoot photos and video while they worked the route. It goes without saying that sending a multi-pitch route at this level of difficulty requires time and commitment. However, their main purpose for this particular adventure in the Chartreuse Mountains was to train for their upcoming attempt to climb  “Zahir” (300m / 8b+) in Wendenstöcke, Switzerland. Katie redpointed (or rather eco-pointed) the route this past summer. Congrats!